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Radford University Athletics

Home Of The RadFord Highlanders RadFord Highlanders
Mawdo Sallah
Jeff Sochko/timcowiephotography.
78
Charleston Southern CSU 7-11, 1-4 BSC
86
Winner Radford RAD 15-6, 7-0 BSC
Charleston Southern CSU
7-11, 1-4 BSC
78
Final
86
Radford RAD
15-6, 7-0 BSC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Charleston Southern CSU 50 28 78
Radford RAD 43 43 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

RADFORD IMPROVES TO 7-0 IN BIG SOUTH PLAY FOR FIRST TIME IN SCHOOL HISTORY WITH WIN OVER CSU


 
MIKE JONES POSTGAME INTERVIEW
ED POLITE JR. POSTGAME INTERVIEW

RADFORD, Va. – The Radford men's basketball team outscored Charleston Southern by 15 points in the second half to earn a come-from-behind 86-78 victory at the Dedmon Center on Thursday night.
 
With the win, the 2018-19 Highlanders become the first team in program history to go 7-0 to begin Big South play. They have now won eight straight games and are a perfect 9-0 at home this season.
 
Senior forward Ed Polite Jr. recorded his ninth double-double of the season and 35th of his career with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Carlik Jones was his usual dynamic self, scoring 13 points to go along with eight assists and four boards.
 
Junior guard Travis Fields Jr. (14), graduate center Mawdo Sallah (12) and senior guard Caleb Tanner (12) all scored in double figures as well. Radford got 23 points from its bench, 21 points off turnovers and a 30-23 advantage in rebounds.
 
Trailing by seven at halftime, Radford came out with a renewed defensive intensity and held the Buccaneers to an 11-for-25 (44.0%) line from the floor including only two 3-pointers over the final 20 minutes. The Highlanders were excellent on the offensive end as well, going 15-for-28 (53.6%) from the field and 10-for-12 (83.3%) at the free throw line in that span.
 
The Dedmon Center was packed with 2,107 fans that fueled the Highlanders in their comeback effort throughout the half. They consistently chipped away, eventually knotting the game at 54-all with 14:39 to play and all of a sudden it was a brand new ball game.
 
A 14-6 run that saw Sallah score nine of his points between 10:06 and 5:37 really gave Radford back control and from there it was a matter of holding the red-hot Buccaneers in check. The Highlanders banded together and came up big in crunch time to secure the victory.
 
Charleston Southern put on one of the most incredible shooting displays the Dedmon Center has ever seen in the first half, going 19-for-27 (70.4%) from the field, 7-for-14 (50.0%) from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 (80.0%) at the free throw line.
 
The game started at a fast pace and stayed that way, but the Highlanders were the first side to push ahead. For quite a while, each basket the Bucs hit was answered two-fold by Radford who eventually took a 31-24 lead at the 8:28 mark.
 
Charleston Southern connected on 11 of its final 12 attempts in the period though, outscoring the Highlanders 26-12 over the final eight minutes to take a 50-43 lead at halftime. Through 20 previous games this year, no other Radford opponent had scored more than 36 points in the first half.
 
Ty Jones had an unbelievable game for Charleston Southern, scoring 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting while Christian Keeling added 20 points of his own.
 
PLAY OF THE GAME  
RECORD WATCH
Polite Jr. made moves in several categories in the Radford record book on Thursday night:
  • Tied Don Burgess (1990-94) for fourth in career free throws made at 336
  • Tied Blake Smith (2009-13) and Anthony Walker (1993-97) for fourth in career steals at 183
  • Became the 10th player in program history to make 500 field goals in his career
  • Is one rebound away from become the second Highlander and fourth player in Big South history with 1,000 career rebounds
  • Is one game played away from entering the top-10 for career games played in Radford history
 
AROUND THE BIG SOUTH
Campbell 77, Presbyterian 73
Winthrop 97, Gardner-Webb 88
Hampton 88, USC Upstate 70
Longwood 55, High Point 51
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders have Saturday off while the rest of the Big South plays so they'll be well rested when they welcome the Campbell Camels to the Dedmon Center on Wednesday, Jan. 30. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip and it will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Tickets can be purchased on RadfordTickets.com or by calling the Radford Ticket Office at (540) 831-7889 during business hours.
 
FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMBB on Twitter, 'radfordmbb' on Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.
 
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